GladRags Gab

Not sure what to do with all those old plastic bags?

Have a pile of old magazine in the corner of your closet?

Or maybe a lot of empty Diet Coke bottles?

Well now is your chance to make all this trash into wearable art in the Junk to Funk fashion show.  Entries are being accepted until October 17th, so get to it!

This is another installation of how rad Portland is.  I love seeing events where people come together over not only their love for art, but also appreciation for the environment, sustainable living and recycled goods.  Nice work.

The actual event is at the Wonder Ballroom on November 17th.  Check them out: www.junktofunk.org  

-jodi nan 

We've always wanted a celebrity spokesperson for GladRags. I always thought it would be a woman but I'm pretty happy with Bob Dylan. Check out his video for us. Ok, well, it's not really for us. He'll sing for you too. 

Have fun,

Brenda 

Even before my cycle has completed itself, I am missing it. On these last days of trickling, I feel the tide turn. I’m moving out of bleeding time.

This time, on the heaviest day, I was at home with the kids all day. Tired from a recent rush of work and a few nights of hot, humid, not-so-great sleeping, I welcomed this rainy day with an indulgent long sit on the couch. I set no agenda for the day and put nothing on my list of what must be accomplished. I let myself lounge, let us all watch TV, eat snacks, read while they napped. Usually, it is so difficult to let a day be. Usually, I must get us out to the library or I must get the bathroom cleaned, or email five people. Oh, glorious heavy flow when we just were. This is what I am missing already, though the blood is not completely gone. I’m missing the deep settling into my body and my life with no other expectations put on them. I could keep this philosophy if I tried, but menstruating makes it so easy, I’m menstruating, that’s what I’m doing. And it feels like enough.

I’ve rinsed the pads, washed out the soaking pot and used the opportunity to clean the tub at the same time. See, I told you I’ve switched gears—I’m cleaning the bathroom. I’m wrapping up the washing and drying and folding and moving on to the next part of the cycle. Luckily, it will all come back around.

Michelle

The other day I was listening to an interview with Naomi Klein, author of No Logo and, more recently, The Shock Doctrine.  I like her creative and clear perspective on the waves of capitalistic thought that have struck the US.  She goes up against Milton Friedman, a die hard free market enthusiast whom I think took the concept a bit too far in its unmitigated simplicity, and whom Klein echoes as she states her case that the current free market ideology uses the tactic of shock to further its agenda.

So, I'm not much of an economic thinker, but it can be argued that economics effects everything we do in this society, all with which we interact.  Read the Democracy Now! interview for Klein's crash course on Friedman's economic thought and her interpretation of how it has shaped our country here.

Klein also created a video clip that introduces the viewer to her theory.

Trying to keep my wits about me,

Diana 

Information is shock resistance.  Arm yourself.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals (my former employer of years gone by) has recently developed Lybrel, an oral contraceptive.  What makes Lybrel different from other combination estrogen and progesterone oral contraceptives is that Lybrel is taken 365 days a year.  No more of those sugar pills that give your body the necessary break from the outside hormones that it needs to have a monthly period.  Lybrel stops menstruation from occurring at all, which according to many doctors is a perfectly safe option.  According to Dr. Kurt Barnhart, Associate Professor and Director of Clinical Research for the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at UPENN in regards to Lybrel clinical trials, "It is our hope that based on these findings physicians will begin to more readily initiate dialogue with their female patients about continuous therapy — helping to eliminate the misconception that periods are a medical necessity and to emphasize the safety and viability of menstrual suppression."  Wyeth contends that women experience an increased quality of life due to not menstruating.  You can read an article about lybrel here: article

Wow.  Every day I am floored by the growing disconnect between the average woman and her body.  The natural cycles, which seem to have been working for the female body for thousands of years is all of a sudden deemed unnecessary by the medical elite.  We all know why we menstruate.  In the typical situation, each month the body prepares for the possibility of pregnancy by delivering an egg from the ovary to the uterus.  In preparation for the egg, the uterus builds up a nutrient rich lining.  When the egg is not fertilized, the lining sheds, hence menstruation.  It is a natural cycle, the ebbing and flowing of hormones.  Personally, I become suspect when medicine attempts to eliminate a natural function that serves its place in the balance of our bodies.  If it ain't broke, why fix it?

In addition, I wonder about the motivation behind the new drug.  Bleeding is gross and bad and we should feel bad about it right, so let's just make it not happen?  Are we going to get to a time when all women who are not trying to get pregnant medicate themselves so that they don't menstruate?  Will it become even more of a taboo to be a bleeding person?  I mean, it is already something that people have a hard time talking about and most of us do it.  What happens when most women don't?  Will those that chose to still bleed become ostracized and will menstruation become even more of a shameful activity? 

-Jodi Nan 

I have had my keeper for the past seven years!!! wow, I can't believe it.  We have traveled through India, across the US, camping trips,music festivals, through bad breakups and happy reunions.  I had one episode on an Indian train.  It was awful and scary.  The toilets are just a hole through the bottom of the train and I emptied my keeper and it almost fell out of my hands to the ground.  But thank the lord I didn't lose my constant companion.  I am a singer/songwriter from Asheville, NC and sometimes I can't believe how much I love this product, it makes my heart swell with happiness!!!

Angi West

Thanks for sharing your story, Angi.  What a close call in India!  We all have our Keeper stories, huh?  My first time using a cup was less for menstrual purposes and more for taking a shot of liquor purposes! ~Diana

Angi's a beautiful singer.  Check her out on www.angiwest.com or on her myspace page.

So, my friend Miguel called me up Sunday whilst I was mid-move (new home is NoEPo with a deliciously quick walk to work).  He was letting me know that his vegan momma - of greater Dallas, Texas no less - had just picked up one of my most favorite books, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World!  Oh, how I envy her fresh vegan cupcake eyes.  When I bought this gem of a baking guide, I literally baked up 5 separate recipes within 7 days.  I feared a life of unsatisfying sweets as I embarked upon my vegan foray, but Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero showed me the way of cholestorol-free delight.  The smores cupcake is the most decadent one I have yet to bake, with a pho-buttercream frosting that puts every cow to shame.

Veganism is a fun challenge.  It requires creativity to find tasty culinary creations in a non-vegan culture.  This was one of my motivators for trying out the plant-based diet.  Luckily, Isa Chandra Moskowitz exists because she sure makes it fun!  Vegan with a Vengeance taught me not only how to spell 'vengeance' but also that Isa is probably the cutest, funniest cooking writer (and so clear - really good for the non-cooks, i.e. me, out there).  Her Post Punk Kitchen show is perfect for those requiring a visual and Isa just came out with a new one-stop vegan cookbook, Veganomicon. 

Mmm… cupcakes.

Paz,

Diana

Here's a sushi tutorial - vegan style: